Omo, na wah oh! Oil don turn wahala for Nigeria as local refineries dey shout say crude oil no dey land for their side. As per report from Central Bank of Nigeria, 306 million barrels of crude don waka comot Nigeria for January to October 2025. Na wetin we go do now?
You fit imagine say while Nigeria dey produce serious crude oil, na only export dem dey carry better bulk go abroad. Local refineries dey jand for crude supply. This palava don make Dangote Petroleum Refinery shout say dem no fit get enough crude to run them gally.
Wetin be di koko? This crude supply wahala dey make some modular refineries close shop because dem no fit run without crude. E be like say na so e go dey now. Data show say from January to October, Nigeria dey produce roughly 443.5 million barrels of crude, but shey you go believe say na about 306 million barrels dey waka go foreign land?
Na so dem dey dey cry. January production start well at 1.54 mbpd, but as e dey go, e begin drop. For March, e manage reach 1.40, later e fit rise small come June and July. But September and October dem still dey zigzag around 1.39 mbpd, e no gree stable again.
Na here the drama begin. While the production dey follow the export steady, export still dey carry big weight. After all calculations, refined crude for local market na around 137 million barrels. But trust dis klazz, dem don dey use international market rates to price local refineries out of the game. Na wetin we go do?
E get some policy wey dey call Domestic Crude Supply Obligation (DCSO), wey gatz make sure say oil producers give some of them crude back to local refineries. But wahala be say this DCSO no dey work well, because of di ‘willing buyer, willing seller’ policy. Na wetin we dey call market wahala. Dem dey prefer to sell crude go other countries wey go pay dem naira-fine.
During interview with The PUNCH, Eche Idoko, national publicity secretary of Crude Oil Refiners Association, dey complain say dem no fit get enough crude to run their factories. Dem dey shout say refineries like OPAC dey only fit work at about 10% of their capacity. Na serious gbege!
Idoko also talk say Dangote refinery dey work at just 60% capacity because crude dey far away like kormedown. Some refineries still dey struggle to go outside to get feedstock.
Na reason be say the policy wey suppose help the local refiners dey make them dey fall hand because of wahala for forex rates and pricing. As dem dey compete with dollar payments, local refiners dey feel am for body. E be like say we dey sit down with correct capacity dat e no dey enter street. So, another problem don land for our plate.
At dis juncture, Eche call for government to show some love for local refining operations. Wetin dey happen now no dey favor anyone wey wan improve local output.
Wetin remain now? Government gatz do wetin dem need to do to make sure say domestic refining dey work well, e no go fit happen if dem no prioritize di local refineries. If dis no happen, we fit dey look crude shortage for a long time. Omo, we don tire for dis palava!
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